Jack Martin

When German performance tuner Novitec decided to squeeze some extra performance from the limited edition Alfa Romeo 8C, it didn't need to look far. The 8c runs the 4.7 liter V8 powertrain of the Maserati GT (both companies are owned by Fiat), so it tapped the technology of its sister company Novitec Tridente, which tunes Maseratis, and came up with a supercharger conversion. In so doing, it created the fastest Alfa in the world. Read More

The magical story-telling prowess of Ian Fleming certainly seems to translate well into film, as the automotive stars of the film adaptations of two of his novels are both claimed to be the world’s best known cars. The first, the James Bond 1964 Aston Martin DB5 movie car from Goldfinger and Thunderball that sold for GBP2,912,000 (US$4,608,500) last October. The other is GEN 11, the fully functioning star of the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Now it too – a fully-functioning road car that sadly doesn’t fly – is to go under the auctioneer’s hammer. Read More

Firing a rifle at a Longbow Apache Attack helicopter in the hope of claiming a US$8 million scalp with a 50 cent bullet might not be a very good idea for too much longer - unless you like keeping company with a Hellfire missile. The U.S. Army’s Longbow Apache Attack helicopters are about to gain a networked Ground Fire Acquisition System (GFAS) which uses infrared cameras to detect muzzle flashes from ground fire, and displays the location and distance of the shooters as an icon on the pilot’s display screen. Not only does this enable the immediate acquisition and prosecution of targets, it also offers the same information to ground forces via the net-centric battlefield information system, giving everyone in the fight vastly improved situational awareness. Read More

To many people, it seems almost inconceivable that you can sleep through the aural brutality of an alarm clock, yet a small percentage of us can indeed, mask out all but the loudest of sounds without batting an eyelid. For those people, there is now "The Skull", a Sonic Boom alarm clock on steroids that pumps out 113 db of sound, flashes bright red light from its eye sockets, and strobes bright orange from a strip of flashing lights on the front. If that's not enough to rouse you, the skull comes with the company's "Bone Crusher" bed shaker attachment to shake you back into your body. Read More

According to the latest DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile Phone Shipment and Forecast Report, the mobile phone market reached 1.6 billion units in 2010, and will increase further to 1.8 billion units this year – there are less than seven billion humans on Mother Earth, so that’s more than one new mobile phone for every man, woman and child. The growth is being driven by continuously growing emerging markets and the trend to upgrading to smart phones. Read More

The 25th Auto Shanghai kicks off a fortnight from now, and in its capacity as one of the world's most important automotive showcases in the world's largest auto market, we'll be seeing quite a few important model introductions. Near the top of that list is a new twin turbo V8 BMW Concept M5. As with all previous M5s, it's a high-performance sports car that masquerades as a premium class business sedan. Also on show will be the new BMW 6 Series Coupe. Read More

Christian von Koenigsegg has once again created a hypercar of the highest order – the new Agera R is capable of approaching 400 km/h and features so much innovation that we’re not going to even attempt to squeeze it all into the introductory paragraph. The 5 litre V8 bi-turbo engine is the lightest and most compact hypercar engine in the world, and produces 1100 hp on E85 bio fuel with peak torque of 1200 Nm spread over over a 3300 rpm rev range. It’s most notable feature though, is a Thule Roof Box which ensures you can take all your gear as well as having a show car with the standard roof when you get there. Read More

The cyclecar was a cross between a motorcycle and a car that popular a 100 years ago, mainly because the extremely light weight and powerful big V-twin motorcycle engine gave it sporting performance. Only one of the original cyclecar manufacturers still exists today – Morgan – and in a remarkable announcement, the entire concept has been updated and will sell for GBP25,000 powered by a big 115 bhp S&S V-twin, a five-speed Mazda gearbox and a cockpit modeled on a WW1 fighter plane. Read More

While retractable hardtops have the edge on their softtop siblings by virtue of reduced road and wind noise, improved insulation and aerodynamics, they lack the typical cabriolet look. EDAG is set to show a completely new type of roof system at the Geneva Motor Show which combines the advantages of a soft top and a retractable hardtop. Read More

Lexus' LFA supercar is, or was, the most exclusive vehicle ever built by the world’s largest automobile manufacturer – only 500 of the exotic carbon fiber 200 mph V10s will be sold at US$375,000 apiece. Now the racetrack-focused “LFA Nürburgring Package” is set to be revealed. Only 50 such 562 bhp vehicles will be produced with revised aerodynamics and technical refinements designed to fine-tune the exotic two-seat sports coupe to be capable of lapping the fabled Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit under 7:20. Now the average Gomer needs more than just a wad of cash, industrial-sized gonads and a sweet handling, brutally powerful car to get around the “Green Hell” inside eight minutes, let alone seven twenty, so the price includes special instruction sessions on the circuit into the bargain. The car can be had in white, orange or black at US$445,000 or in and matte black for US$465,000, making it the most expensive Japanese road car ever. Read More